DeBakey Undergraduate Research Program, Fall 2006

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(3 cr hr. BMEN or VTPP 485)
Christopher M. Quick, Ph. D.
email: debakeyinstitute@gmail.com

The Program

Continuing a program established in the Fall of 2004, this fall we will select up to 120 students to participate in ongoing research in the DeBakey Institute Undergraduate Research Program. The goal of this program is threefold: 1) to give students with little or no research experience an authentic experience that will help clarify future career goals, 2) to select promising undergraduate students for long-term mentoring and inclusion in the community, and 3) to produce quality research for publication. Each student will have the opportunity to work in a team consisting of a graduate student and undergraduate students from a different field of study. Students will have the opportunity to change groups (schedule permitting) to other groups midway through the semester.

Time Commitment

We will expect students to commit to 10 hrs/week on projects, which includes meeting for team experiments and journal club, as well as independent work. Thursday 6-8PM must be available for mandatory team meetings and informational sessions.

Career Development

Becoming involved with the day-to-day operation of the lab working with graduate students with different backgrounds provides informal opportunities for career mentoring. Dr. Quick is available to give more directed advice, particularly for choosing a mentor, securing funding for graduate/professional school, and developing a compelling research portfolio. The lab provides ample opportunity for undergraduates to publish their work. Several undergraduate students are selected each semester to join the Institute for extended mentoring and paid research positions.

Available Project Groups

BatFest. Basic questions in microvascular physiology will be addressed with both theoretical approaches using mathematical modeling and experimental approaches using the batwing model. The research projects are chosen for their importance to the field of physiology and their potential to be solved by motivated students with little training experimental training.

HeartFest. Steady-flow ventricular assist devices (e.g.., the DeBakey VAD) provide a new approach to extending the lives of those with heart failure. However, the long-term response of the cardiovascular system to these devices is unknown. Students will participate in experimental approaches to study isolated vessels and simulation based on electrical transmission line theory.

CHI-Fest. With the insight from computer scientists, sociologists, and educators, a new kind of interface has been developed (i.e., ebat.) Using this platform, students will have the opportunity to take part in research in computer-human interaction, and to design new mechanisms to enhance the collaboration of scores of undergraduates participating in the Undergraduate Research Program.

CommunityFest. The basis for the DeBakey Undergraduate Research Program is a distributed learning community. With at least 15 student teams on campus, and several student teams off campus, there are ample opportunities to perform research in institutional change, educational practice, sociological research methods, and online-offline community development.